R. M. K. Saunders (in litt.) believes that Goniothalamus gardneri is endemic to Sri Lanka and that the Chinese and other material so named has been misidentified. The Sri Lankan material differs by the sparsely puberulent stems, slightly smaller sepals (0.8-1.2 cm), and shorter petals (outer 2.4 to less than 5 cm, abaxially puberulent; inner 0.9-1.4 cm).